Report highlights how market access unlocks global opportunities for British red meat

Today, we have published the second edition of our market access prioritisation report. The report highlights the countries where we will focus our efforts to maximise export opportunities for beef, sheep meat and pig meat.

HMRC figures revealed the total value of UK red meat exports, including offal, reached £2bn in 2025. This was an increase of 12% compared with 2024.

The UK currently has extensive market access for beef, lamb and pig meat.

Our report reviews the global opportunities and challenges across a range of key export markets, including major Asian markets, North America and selected regions in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean.

This includes export opportunities in Japan. We recently hosted a British Meat Dinner for key stakeholders from the Japanese meat industry and UK stakeholders to sample the very best British beef, pork and lamb.

Ouafa Doxon, AHDB Head of Market Access, said:

“Levy payers are at the heart of what we do, and this report has been developed in close collaboration with industry, showing our core focus and the rationale behind it.

“It’s designed to give us strategic direction, helping us align with industry aspirations and ensuring that the views of our levy payers feed into wider government market access strategy.

“The report highlights markets that offer strong potential, based on recent engagement and sector-wide intelligence. However, prioritisation remains a flexible and evolving process.

"As recent world events have shown, international trade can change quickly. We must stay agile to changes in global trade and adapt to where new opportunities arise as a result.

“Any market we open benefits the entire supply chain, adding value to the whole industry. However, market access takes time and a market access prioritisation report will help us maintain a broad portfolio of markets for our beef, sheep meat and pig meat.”

Our market access work underpins the activity of our International Trade Development team, which delivers a comprehensive programme of activity to help export businesses promote British beef, sheep meat and pig meat around the world.

Ouafa added:

“Market access is the first step in the export process. It opens the door to new markets and broadens the scope of what we can export to existing ones.

"Our team on the ground will continue to work with industry and government to help maximise the potential for our red meat exports.”